Cibc World Market Inc. Increases Holdings in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $LGND

Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,131 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 6,209 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. owned 0.30% of Ligand Pharmaceuticals worth $10,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 749,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $85,232,000 after acquiring an additional 22,629 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 667,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,370 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 59.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 541,845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,982,000 after purchasing an additional 202,103 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 488,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $55,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acuitas Investments LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 1,922.9% during the third quarter. Acuitas Investments LLC now owns 402,494 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after buying an additional 382,597 shares during the period. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LGND has been the topic of several analyst reports. HC Wainwright lifted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $206.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $234.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark lifted their price target on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $175.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $239.33.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of LGND stock opened at $183.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 24.30 and a current ratio of 24.69. Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $93.58 and a fifty-two week high of $212.49. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.81 and a beta of 1.14. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $193.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, Director John W. Kozarich sold 467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.91, for a total value of $91,489.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,460,765.17. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 1,804 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.31, for a total transaction of $339,711.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,186 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,931,085.66. This represents a 6.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,205 shares of company stock worth $611,192. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

About Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and out-licenses proprietary technologies designed to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies discover and develop novel medicines. Operating primarily through its research services and royalty-generating businesses, Ligand focuses on building a diversified portfolio of technology platforms and partnering with industry leaders to advance therapeutic candidates across multiple disease areas.

The company’s product offerings center around several core platforms.